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What to Expect on Sunday |
We continue on our journey in Exodus, remembering the clear lesson of Exodus: (1) That wherever we live, it is Egypt; (2) There is a better place, a world more attractive, a promised land; (3) The way to that land is through the wilderness. Today, our Scripture reading from the first Exodus journey comes after the crossing of the Red Sea. Israel has crossed over on dry ground through the parted waters and the army of Egypt has drowned in the crashing waters coming back together. Understandably, Israel breaks into a song of praise led by Moses’ sister, Miriam. However, the story doesn’t have a "happily ever after" ending there. There are still many challenges ahead. The journey through the wilderness is just beginning. So, our Scripture reading begins at chapter 15, verse 21, the conclusion of the praise song led by Miriam…and moves immediately to the next challenge. (Read Exodus 15:21-27). Have you ever experienced severe thirst? Have you ever gone 24 hours without water or some form of it? I remember hearing a pastor preaching during a Lenten series on the last words of Jesus from the cross. His topic was Jesus’ words, "I thirst," and he spoke of a time when he experienced a deep thirst like that Jesus was experiencing. It came when he was in the army and serving in Viet Nam. His platoon had gotten separated and cut off from the supply line. I don’t recall how long they went without water, but it was a long time. He and his fellow soldiers were experiencing a deep thirst, a dangerous thirst if they didn’t get some water soon. Eventually, a crate of supplies was air dropped into their position and as they ravenously opened it the first thing they came across was a case of orange soda! Now, keep in mind this was before the era of today’s bottled water. The supply depot didn’t have a case of Aquafina sitting on hand. I don’t recall the eventual outcome of all the events—obviously this preacher survived the event(!)—but I do remember him speaking to the relief the liquid brought to their parched throats. They probably got sick on it, but they did survive. I’ve never experienced severe thirst like that—thankfully. The closest I can recall was the first day of freshman football practice. Up until then, my football experience had been in Young America League football—the Blue Knights. I quickly discovered practices in Young America League were cake compared to this first practice of freshman football. And this was back in the day of the "no water policy." Stopping for water was a sign of weakness so there were no water breaks during practice. Fortunately, we’ve since learned the danger of that experience and practices are frequently halted for water breaks. But not that day. What I remember is, for some reason I was chewing gum that first day of practice. And the more we ran the drier my mouth got. For some reason, I didn’t spit the gum out—maybe I thought it would help me work up some saliva or something. But, I never spat the gum out and by the end of that first practice my mouth was so dry that I couldn’t chew the gum. It literally stuck to the roof of my dry mouth. Never did a drink of water taste—and feel(!)—so good. Perhaps you’ve had some similar experience. We know the perils of going without water and the anguish caused by great thirst. Therefore, we can understand the anxiety of the Israelites as their song of praise turns into cries of complaint and concern when severe thirst hits them and no good, usable drinking water can be found. One commentator said of Israel’s complaining, here and elsewhere throughout their wandering in the wilderness, "Bondage with security and resources seems preferable to freedom and living from one oasis to another," Terence E. Fretheim, Interpretation: Exodus, p. 171). Life in Exodus can sometimes feel like that, a longing for security and resources even though at the cost of freedom…and how much we can miss as a result. The answer for this dilemma—as it will be for all dilemmas faced in the wilderness—is to trust in the Lord, listen for His voice and obey His decrees. The particular answer here is a piece of wood God leads Moses to pick up and toss into the water. Somehow, the wood turns the bitter water sweet and Israel can drink. There are several lessons for our lives in Exodus from this passage. First of all, the solution to Israel’s problem of no water to drink is not so much a miracle, but rather God using what is available in creation (a piece of wood) to solve the problem. One can argue whether the plagues and even the crossing of the Red Sea were the results of natural phenomena or God’s intervention (I think that clearly it is the latter), but it is worth noting that God uses what is available in creation to solve a problem being faced by His people. I think an example for today would be medicine. God uses what is available in creation—the gifts of doctors and nurses, of research chemists who develop new drugs and treatments for illnesses and disease—to respond to a health problem we are facing. That is not to say to not seek God, to not bother with praying to God in the midst of such circumstances. On the contrary, it is to say to continually look for God’s presence in the very midst of whatever circumstance we are facing. Moses cries out to the LORD and the LORD leads Moses to a piece of wood that somehow, without a specific command from the LORD, Moses knows to throw it into the water. In whatever circumstance you are facing in your own journey through the wilderness, continually cry out to the LORD and look for His presence in the things of creation that are available to you—the treatment recommended by a wise doctor, the support and encouragement of loving friends—whatever it is, the LORD is right there in the middle of it all. The ultimate answer to whatever thirst develops in our journey through the wilderness is, of course, Jesus Christ. In some ways, the story of Israel’s wandering through the wilderness and the answers that come to the dilemmas they face are a precursor to the answer given us in Jesus. The prophet, Isaiah, made the connection. In Isaiah 41:17, 18, this great prophet who saw lessons to be learned from Israel’s past and a future redemption to come from the LORD’s "Anointed One," writes these words: "The poor and needy search for water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. But, I the LORD will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. I will make rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the valleys. I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs." Jesus himself spoke of the "living water" that was available through him. In that famous story of Jesus with the Samaritan woman at the well, Jesus says to her, "Everyone who drinks this water [water from the well] will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life," (John 4:13, 14). And the promise of sated thirst continues in the book of Revelation with the image of a new heaven and a new earth—the promised land toward which we are journeying through the wilderness today: "[The one who is seated on the throne] said to me: ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life,’" (Revelation 21:7), and, "The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life," (Revelation 22:17). Is there a thirsting in your soul today for some meaning and purpose to your life? Are you thirsty for answers to the mistakes of your past, the dilemmas of the moment and the uncertainties of the future? Then come and drink from the free gift of the water of life given to us in Jesus Christ. As we prepare to eat and drink at the table of Holy Communion, let’s take a moment of silent reflection. |
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